


Nightlight

by LovelyLittleGrim



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Nightlights, Sweet, fear of the dark, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-25 17:48:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14383833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyLittleGrim/pseuds/LovelyLittleGrim
Summary: Liam worries about Theo's sleeping habits, or lack thereof and tries to find a solution.





	Nightlight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [manonlemelon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/manonlemelon/gifts).



> For Manon! Happy birthday to my favorite little ghost!!! (It's a smidge late, sorry!!)

Theo sleeps everywhere that’s not his bedroom at night. It’s a strange fact, one that Liam has picked up on in the last two weeks. Every night Liam slips from his room to go to the bathroom he passes by Theo’s door and sees the yellow glow of his light filtering through the cracks. The chimera has always looked tired during the day, Liam had just assumed it was the effects of sleeping in a truck, but Theo moved in with him and his family more than a month ago and the chimera looks just as worn and wary as ever.

Liam frowns down at Theo. The chimera is slouched over a desk, face buried in a pillow of limbs as he sleeps. The bright sunlight glitters through the window, its warm rays falling on Theo making his hair and skin shine beneath its light in the abandoned art room. This is the third time Liam has caught him sleeping at school in some tucked away corner instead of sitting in class learning like he should be. Liam squats down, bringing his face level with the desk. He reaches out slowly, places his hand on Theo’s shoulder and shakes him.

 “Theo,” he murmurs, not wanting to startle the chimera.

There’s a tiny groan as Theo lifts his head. Groggy eyes blink over at Liam in confusion.

“Wha—” he rasps out, voice rough with sleep.

“Schools over,” Liam tells him, watching as Theo’s brow furrows down.

Liam glances at the clock on the wall, schools been over for nearly two hours now. The only reason Liam’s still here is because lacrosse practice ran late. Nolan had agreed to give him a ride home, but Liam had changed his mind when he saw Theo’s car still parked in the school’s lot and had set off in search of the chimera. He turns back to Theo and sees that his eyes have closed again, his head dipping forward as he falls asleep sitting up.

Liam blows a strand of damp hair from his forehead and pokes Theo in the shoulder. “Hey, wake up, Dummy.”

Theo jerks his head back up and squints at him.

Liam snorts out a quiet laugh and out his hand. “Give me your car keys, I’ll take us home.”

It’s a testament to how tired and completely out of it Theo really is when he just reaches clumsily into his jacket pocket and pulls out his keys. Theo never lets anyone drive his precious truck, ever. Liam takes them, holds them in one hand while his other reaches out to grasp onto the sleeve of Theo’s jean jacket. He uses his hold to pull Theo up to his feet, the chimera sways back and forth dangerously, almost like he’s drunk. Liam tightens his hold on Theo’s sleeve and gently guides him from the building.

He unlocks Theo’s truck when they finally reach it, the sun just starting to dip down behind the school, making the world glow a brilliant orange. He pulls open the passenger side door and hoists Theo inside. The chimera makes a noise of displeasure and bats at Liam’s hands.

“Stop it,” He grumbles.

 Liam rolls his eyes and waits for Theo to buckle himself up, but Theo just tips his head back and wrinkles his nose, his green eyes watering as he tries to keep his eyes from closing. Liam thinks it’s a little cute, almost like a small child trying to stay awake past their bedtime to watch a cartoon. Liam bites down on his bottom lip nervously before just leaning in and buckling Theo up himself.

“Good,” Theo mumbles out beside his ear, his warm breath ghosting across Liam’s skin.

“What’s good,” Liam asks as he struggles with the belt, trying to get the pieces to click together so he can move away.

Theo’s head leans forward, his chin bumping against Liam’s shoulder. “Scent.”

Liam can feel his entire body heat up at the single word. “Oh,” He chokes out, just as the metal finally clicks, the belt pinching his finger. He lets out a quiet yelp and slips down out of the truck, he falls painfully on his ass on the cold cement. His heart is pounding in his chest and it has nothing to do with falling from the truck and everything to do with Theo. He stares up in shock at the chimera. Theo’s head thumps back against the seat, expression confused.

 _He’s just really tired,_ Liam thinks _. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about._

Swallowing nervously, Liam pushes himself back up to his feet. He gives Theo’s thigh an awkward little pat and tells him to go to sleep. “I’ll wake you when we get home, okay?”

“Okay,” Theo mumbles, lips barely moving as his eyes flutter shut. Liam closes the passenger door as gently as he can and swipes the keys up from where they lay on the ground.

The drive home is slower than usual, Liam driving as carefully as he can; avoiding potholes and bumps in the road so as not to disturb Theo. He doesn’t mind that the typically fifteen minute journey home takes nearly thirty. He just cares about the soft, nearly unnoticeable snores that are coming from the chimera. Each one is proof that Theo is really sleeping.

He glances over at the passenger seat and shakes his head as he takes note of the deep bruises marring the skin beneath Theo’s eyes. It looks like Theo hasn’t slept in months, the healthy tan fading from his skin, leaving him pale and fragile looking. It’s worrying, and Liam doesn’t like the anxiety living in the pit of his stomach. He doesn’t like it growing each morning Theo staggers down to breakfast like everything is okay when it’s clearly not. He wants to help the chimera, but he has no idea how or if Theo will even let him try.

* * *

 

His mother is in the living room when Liam stumbles into the house with Theo in tow. She mutes the TV and gives the pair of them a look of concern. She’s always worried about new supernatural threats and hunters these days ever since Liam got up the courage to tell her the truth about himself. He gives her a reassuring smile as he walks past towards the stairs, his arm around Theo’s waist, holding the chimera close.

“We’re fine,” he says, keeping his voice low. “Theo’s just tired, I’ll be back down in a moment.”

She nods her head in understanding, but the worry doesn’t ease from her blue eyes. Liam can feel her gaze on them all the way up the stairs before they turn the corner towards Theo’s room. Liam pushes the door open and staggers inside towards Theo’s bed, werewolf or not Theo is still nothing but muscles and hard to carry.

single-handedly, Liam tugs the blanket down from the made-up bed and drops Theo on top of it. There’s a small whine of annoyance from the chimera, but Liam ignores it.

“You need to sleep more, Theo,” Liam chides as he moves down the bed and begins to unlace Theo’s shoes. He’s frustrated with Theo and himself but makes sure to keep him hands calm and gentle. “This isn’t healthy.”

“I sleep,” Theo mumbles, a yawn cutting into his words as he blinks watery eyes up at Liam.

Liam glares at him.

“Two hours a day at school can’t be counted as properly sleeping.” He looks back down at Theo’s shoes and fiddles with the knot on the left one. “What’s going on with you, why aren’t you getting any sleep?”

“M fine,” Theo says, words slurring together, he’s trying to pull off his own jacket and struggling with it. Liam sighs and tugs off Theo’s shoes before moving back up the bed to help Theo with his jacket.

“Sure, you are,” Liam mutters beneath his breath.

Theo tries to shrug him off, not wanting Liam’s help, but his eyes keep slipping closed, too heavy for the chimera to keep open. Liam eventually gets the jean jacket off and pulls the blanket over Theo’s body, the chimera already fast asleep. He stands there a moment too long, his eyes tracing over Theo taking him in. Theo’s face looks soft in sleep, unguarded.

Liam’s hand reaches out of its own volition and brushes the hair away from Theo’s eyes. He freezes, the silky strands beneath his hand and jerks his hand away.

“Dummy,” he huffs though he doesn’t know if he’s talking to Theo or himself.

* * *

 

Liam’s mother is still sitting in the living room when Liam makes his way back down the stairs. She pats the couch beside her and he joins her, flopping down in the seat with a loud sigh. He feels exhausted, mentally more than physically, his worry draining the energy from his body.

His mother smiles at him warmly and pulls him into her side. It calms him, her scent soft like lilac and baked goods. They watch tv together, an old rerun of Buffy that they’ve both seen a hundred times, but that always helps put them in a better mood. He’ll never get over just how much the main actress looks like a younger version of his mother. He lets the sound of fighting from the tv and his mothers' laughter wash over him, his anxiety and worries melting away as she cards her soft hand through his hair.

“You know,” His mother says halfway through a second episode and Liam looks up at her from where his head is resting in her lap. “He reminds me of you when you were little.”

“Who,” Liam asks in confusion. There are no guys on the tv right now, it's just willow and tara making out. 

“Theo,” She says like it should have been obvious. She’s speaking so quietly, almost like she’s worried Theo will somehow hear her. “Stumbling around during the day like a zombie and refusing to sleep at night. You used to do the same thing when you were younger. You had your father and me so worried.”

“That’s different,” he says moving to sit upright and look at her.

“Oh,” she says, eyes moving from the tv to stare straight back at him. “How so?”

Liam wrinkles his nose as he thinks back to those days. “I was afraid of the dark,” Liam says huffily. “That’s why I didn’t sleep at night.”

“And? Theo can’t be afraid of the dark?” she asks arching a brow at him imperiously. “Because that’s what it looks like sweetheart.”

_No, because Theo isn’t afraid of things. He’s cocky and careful, and he always knows the answer. Theo can’t be afraid of the dark…_

“He...” Liam trails off as he thinks about it a little more.

He thinks back to every time he’s found Theo asleep during the day, always in the brightest room, where sunlight can reach him. Liam had just assumed that Theo liked the warmth, like some large, lazy cat, but now it makes sense. Liam himself used to curl up in front of the big bay windows in their dining room with a blanket and sleep, the sun lighting up the room and keeping him safe from the shadows. That was until his parents had finally realized that he was afraid of the dark and had gotten him a nightlight so that he wouldn’t be scared to sleep in his room alone.

“Oh,” Liam breathes out as everything clicks into place.

_Theo’s afraid of the dark._

“Oh,” he says again a little louder and launches off the couch to race up the stairs.

 He’d turned the light off before leaving Theo’s room.

He busts through Theo’s bedroom door, heart pounding in his chest and flicks on the light. Theo startles upright, nearly falling from the bed.

“Liam,” Theo says, eyes blinking rapidly as he glances around the room. He seems a little more rested and awake. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I—“ Liam swallows, feeling embarrassed as he stands in the middle of the doorway like some crazy person. “Uh, nothing, sorry for waking you.”

Theo rubs at his face and shakes his head. “It’s fine,” he says eyes darting to the window, where the sun is clearly no longer shining, the world outside is dark and intimidating. Theo turns his attention back to Liam, hands dropping down to tangle in the blanket across his lap. “Did you want something?”

“No,” Liam says the word coming out more like a question. He’d just wanted to turn the light back on before Theo had a chance to wake up in darkness.

Theo’s head tips to the side, lips pursing in disbelief. “Right,” he says slowly, brows furrowing.

“Yeah,” Liam nods his head and steps back towards the door, jerking a thumb at it. “I’ll, uh, just go.”

He turns quickly on his heel to step out into the hallway but can’t bring himself to leave. He can’t just walk away and let Theo continue to suffer. He turns back around, his heart kicking up a little quicker in his chest. He hopes he’s not wrong about this, hopes Theo won’t be furious for him prying.

 “Theo,” he says quietly, feet shuffling against the carpet. “The reason you haven’t been getting much sleep…”

Theo’s body tenses up. “Yeah?”

Slowly, Liam lifts his gaze to meet Theo’s, sucks in a deep breath and asks: “Is it because you’re afraid of the dark?”

A shocked expression flashes across Theo’s face, there and gone in a matter of seconds. Liam can hear the stuttering of Theo’s heart from where he’s standing. There’s a long stony silence. Liam steps further into the room and shuts the door behind him, giving them privacy.

“I’m not going to make fun of you Theo,” Liam whispers. “It’s okay to be afraid.”  

There’s another long pause and then Theo exhales like he’s been holding his breath for hours.

“I can’t breathe when it’s dark,” Theo admits, his voice barely a whisper. His scent takes on the bitter aroma of embarrassment and self-loathing.

“It…” Theo trails off waving his hand through the air and giving a sharp laugh. The sound cuts Liam straight to the core.

“It presses in on you,” Liam says understandingly recalling the feeling he had gotten each night when he was little like the shadows were hands holding him down and stealing the air from his lungs. He remembers the fear, how paralyzing it was, even now years later.

Liam watches as Theo’s hand falls back to the bed and clenches into the blanket, knuckles going white the harder he holds on.

“I wasn’t... it just happened after...” he trails off and Liam knows at once that he’s talking about hell. Theo wasn’t afraid of the dark before his time spent down below. Something like guilt blooms in Liam’s veins, he pushes it forcefully away.

“Do you... want to talk about it,” Liam asks hesitantly, hoping that maybe it’ll help assuage Theo’s fears, hoping it’ll help Theo get some rest.

Theo shakes his head, hair falling into his eyes. “I just want to sleep,” Theo admits, sounding helpless and so very tired.

It makes Liam’s heart clench within his chest. He bites down on his lip and nods his head in understanding. He understands that feeling. He’d had it as a child, and then again after becoming a werewolf. He understands being dead tired and too afraid to close your eyes because of things waiting in the dark to get you.

A sudden idea forms in the back of his head. “Oh,” He breathes out turning and hurrying from the room. He calls out a quick. “One second!”

It takes him longer than a second to find what he’s looking for, but he does find it. It was shoved away into the back of his closet and lost beneath old clothes and grubby sneakers. He lets out a little noise of victory when he finally spots it though. The lamp is just as colorful and gaudy as he remembers it being as a kid. The little dinosaurs painted on it are chipping away but when he plugs it into his outlet the light still flares to life, bright and reassuring. He smiles to himself and nods at the lamp as though he’s thanking it for holding on after all these years like it knew it would one day be needed again.

Liam slips from his room back into Theo’s, the lamp clutched in his hands like a weird little lifeline. Theo is sitting up against the headboard, eyes heavily lidded and shoulders sagging with exhaustion. He sits up a little straighter when he sees Liam, his eyes narrowing curiously at the object in Liam’s hands. “What’s that?”

Grinning triumphantly, Liam holds it up like a trophy. “It’s a nightlight.”

“A nightlight,” Theo repeats after him, expression morphing into one of disbelief. “I’m 19, Liam, not 6, I don’t need a nightlight.”

“It’s not for children Theo, it’s for people who are afraid of the dark, and even adults can have fears,” Liam tells him seriously as he stoops low to plug the lamp in behind the nightstand next to Theo’s bed. He sets the lamp on top of the stand and turns it on. The lamp washes the room in a soft blue glow as he steps back.  He lifts his gaze from the lamp, his eyes meeting Theo’s. “There’s no age limit on terror.”

Theo drops his gaze, eyes settling on the lamp critically. Liam can see him taking in all the chipping paint and the little dents in the metal. “Was this yours?”

Nodding, Liam sits beside him on the bed.

“Yeah, I used to be terrified of the dark, so my parents bought me this,” He gestures at the nightlight.

“My mom said that the dinosaurs would eat all the monsters to keep me safe.” Liam ignores Theo’s scoffing laugh and continues. “She said that’s what nightlights do. They protect you.”

Theo lifts his gaze slowly, his eyes traveling across Liam’s face. Liam wonders what he searching for. Theo hums in consideration and licks his lips before dropping his gaze back to the lamp. There’s a small moment of silence and the he says. “Jenna’s weird.”

“A little,” Liam admits with a grin, bumping his shoulder into Theo’s. The chimera is warm, the heat of his skin sinking into Liam. “But it helped me, so maybe it’ll help you too.”

Theo swallows thickly, his eyes flickering from the lamp to Liam and back to the lamp again. He doesn’t say anything, just gives a tiny, almost imperceptible nod of his head. Liam sits there for a moment longer, enjoying the silence and the warmth of Theo’s body against his before pushing himself up to his feet.  “Get some sleep, Theo.”

He’s just stepping out the door when he hears his name called softly.

“Yeah,” he turns back to Theo, his hand on the doorknob, the nightlight washing the room in a pale blue glow.

“Thanks,” Theo says, haltingly, like he’s never said the word before. He doesn’t look at Liam, but Liam can see the dark color of his ears and knows Theo is blushing. 

“You don’t have to thank me, Theo,” Liam tells him honestly. “That’s what pack is for.”

* * *

 

Liam’s just coming in from his morning run, his skin coated in a fine layer of sweat when he hears footsteps on the stairs. He wipes at his brow with the towel around his neck and steps into the hallway where the staircase is. Theo’s standing just a quarter of the way down, body frozen. Liam stares up at him, eyes tracing the contours of his face. The skin beneath Theo’s eyes looks a little less bruised, a little more healthy than the day before.

“Morning,” Liam chirps at him, a tiny smile tugging at his lips at the sleep-ruffled hair and the rumpled clothing. 

“Morning,” Theo says back slowly, his eyes darting around, a hand running through his hair. He smells like toothpaste and nerves.

Liam frowns. He thought Theo had been able to sleep through the night, but he might have been wrong. Liam leans against the banister of the stairs and looks up at Theo. “Did you sleep okay?”

Theo drops his eyes to Liam, they’re wide awake, the deep green pinning Liam in place.

“Yeah,” he says, nodding his head once and coming down a few more steps so that he’s standing in front of Liam.

“Good,” Liam murmurs. Theo is so very close to him, the only thing separating their bodies is the railing of the staircase. He flushed as Theo stares at him, a curious expression on his face.

“Where’s your parents?”

“Uh,” Liam’s mind blanks for a moment, the question throwing him off. “Dad has an early shift and moms at the store.”

He pauses and then asks. “Did you need them for something.”

“No,” Theo shakes his head, the scent of nervous tension increases. “I just wanted to make sure they wouldn’t see me do this.”

“Do wha—" Liam starts to ask but cuts himself off when Theo reaches out to grab the towel around his neck and pulls Liam in close to kiss him. Their mouths meet a little too hard and quick, teeth cracking together painfully, but it’s perfect. He can feel Theo starting to pull away, so he reaches up and tangles his hands into the chimeras already messy hair and hold him in place. He slows down the speed of the kiss, makes it deeper, softer, his tongue sliding into the chimera’s mouth. He tastes minty like toothpaste, his mouth warm and soft against Liam’s. Theo lets out a tiny moan of surprise as though he hadn’t expected Liam to kiss him back, to want him just as badly.

The front door clicks open, and his mothers high-heels clack against the wood of the floor, loud and sharp as she walks down the hallway towards them.

“Oh, good morning boys,” she says when she sees them. Her eyes scanning over them critically taking in their red faces and guilty expression. She arches a brow at the pair of them, a tiny smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. Liam can feel how hot his own face has gotten, his heart thundering in his chest like he’s just run a triathlon.

 _Theo just kissed him._ The thought runs through his head over and over, like a scratched record. He hopes it wasn’t just some weird way of thanking him. Liam feels something warm cover his hand on the banister just as he begins to panic and knows without looking that is Theo’s hand.

“You look better sweetheart,” His mother tells Theo, she’s smiling. Her blue eyes staring at where their hands are. “Sleep well?”

Liam peeks up at Theo and catches the chimera looking back at him, a small unsure smile on his face. He looks just nervous as Liam feels. “Yeah.”

His mom makes a pleased noise as she heads for the kitchen with her bags. “That’s good, I’m happy.”

“Me too,” Liam says quietly and reaches up to grip Theo’s cheek as soon as his mother is out of sight. He tugs Theo back down and catches the chimera’s lips with his own, this time without the harsh bite of teeth. The kiss is slow, gentle in a way that says a million things they’re too terrified to utter out loud just yet. It’s reassuring and warm like the glow of a nightlight in a too dark room. Liam’s never felt safer.


End file.
